ANALYSIS: Five Metrics That Explain the State of the Unions

Labor’s headcount in the American workforce is shrinking … but its presence on the picket lines is growing. Labor’s organizing strength is up … but it’s also down. Labor’s bargaining power is waning … but it’s also gaining.

My fellow Americans, the State of the Unions is: Mixed.

On one hand, management-side observers can look at 2018’s year-end statistics and be cheered by:

• the continued flight of workers from the ranks of organized labor,
• a rock-bottom turnout in organizing elections,
• an uptick in the use of lockouts as bargaining leverage, and
• a closing of the earnings gap between union and ...